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GST · e-invoicing

e-Invoicing turnover limit — who must comply, and since when.

e-Invoicing rolled out to Indian businesses in stages, lowering the threshold every year or so. Here's where the limit stands, who's exempt, and what it means for your bills. Written by Chartered Accountants.

  • Reviewed July 2026
  • 5 min read
  • CA Anil Agarwal & the TatvaBooks team

The current e-invoicing threshold

e-Invoicing under GST became mandatory in stages, starting with the very largest businesses and moving progressively down-market. The current threshold is ₹5 crore aggregate turnover in any financial year from 2017-18 onward — cross that in even one year, and e-invoicing applies to your B2B supplies going forward.

Rollout phase Applicable from Turnover threshold
Phase 1 October 2020 ₹500 crore+
Phase 2 January 2021 ₹100 crore+
Phase 3 April 2021 ₹50 crore+
Phase 4 April 2022 ₹20 crore+
Phase 5 October 2022 ₹10 crore+
Phase 6 August 2023 ₹5 crore+

The threshold has moved down roughly once a year since 2020, so it would not be surprising if it moves again — verify the current limit on the GST portal before treating ₹5 crore as permanent for your compliance planning. Our e-invoice guide covers the mechanics of generating one once you're covered.

Who is exempt

Even above the turnover threshold, a handful of categories are exempted from e-invoicing by specific notification:

  • SEZ units (note: SEZ developers are not exempt — only units).
  • Banks, financial institutions and NBFCs, including insurers.
  • Goods transport agencies transporting goods by road (covered instead by a different scheme).
  • Passenger transportation services.
  • Suppliers of services by way of admission to cinema exhibitions, and a few other specifically notified categories.

If you think you might fall into one of these, confirm against the current exemption notification rather than assuming — the list has been refined more than once since 2020.

What e-invoicing means for your billing

Once e-invoicing applies to you, every B2B invoice, export invoice and supply to an SEZ unit must be reported to the government's Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) before it's considered valid. In return, you get an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a signed QR code, which must appear on the invoice you hand to your customer. An invoice without a valid IRN isn't treated as a valid tax invoice — which puts your customer's input tax credit at risk, not just your own compliance.

In practice this means your billing software needs to talk to the IRP in real time, not just print a nice-looking PDF — the IRN and QR code are the parts that actually matter for compliance.

How TatvaBooks prepares e-invoices

TatvaBooks prepares each qualifying invoice with the fields the IRP needs — HSN codes, place of supply, and the invoice schema — and shows the IRN and signed QR code on the bill. Honest caveat: live, automatic filing straight to the NIC/IRP from within TatvaBooks is on our roadmap rather than shipped today — we'll update this page the day it goes live. Until then, we prepare the invoice correctly so the filing step is fast, not a scramble. See the GST billing software page for how invoicing works end to end.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current e-invoicing turnover limit?
As the threshold has been progressively lowered since October 2020, businesses with aggregate turnover of ₹5 crore or more in any financial year from 2017-18 onward are currently required to generate e-invoices for B2B supplies. This threshold has moved down several times since e-invoicing began, so verify the current limit on the GST portal before relying on it for a compliance decision.
Is e-invoicing mandatory for B2C transactions?
No. e-Invoicing under the current framework applies to B2B supplies, exports, and supplies to SEZ units — not to retail B2C sales. B2C invoices don't need an IRN or the signed QR code that B2B e-invoices carry, though good invoicing practice still applies.
What happens if I raise an invoice without an IRN when e-invoicing applies?
An invoice issued without a valid IRN, where e-invoicing applies to you, is not treated as a valid tax invoice under GST law — which can affect your customer's ability to claim input tax credit on it, and can attract penalties. If your turnover has crossed ₹5 crore in any of the specified years, treat e-invoicing as compulsory going forward, not optional.
Once I cross the e-invoicing threshold, do I stay covered even if turnover drops later?
Yes. The rule looks at whether your aggregate turnover crossed the threshold in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards, not just the current year. Once you're covered, a later dip in turnover does not automatically take you out of the e-invoicing requirement — confirm your specific position with the current CBIC notifications or your CA.
Are all businesses above ₹5 crore turnover required to do e-invoicing?
Most are, but there are specific exemptions — including SEZ units (not SEZ developers), banks and financial institutions, insurers, goods transport agencies transporting goods by road, passenger transport services, and a few other notified categories. If you fall in one of these categories, check the current exemption list on the GST portal, since it is updated periodically.

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